Rumors: Spy Shots—Subaru BRZ STI

By Doran Dal Pra

November 01, 2012

The spy shooters over at Automobile caught what appears to be a prototype of the highly anticipated STI version of Subaru's celebrated BRZ sportscar doing some testing at The Green Hell—a.k.a. the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany. The photos clearly show a BRZ that's been tuned and tweaked by the STI performance gurus—it features new wheels, STI branded brakes, a park bench sized rear wing, a slightly more aggressive body kit, and bigger dual exhaust tips out back.

What's not so clear from these photos is what's been done inside the engine bay. The last time we reported on the BRZ STI, rumors were floating about that it wouldn't feature a turbocharged engine, traditionally the centerpiece of the road rockets from Subaru's in-house tuning division. More recently, rumors surfaced that the BRZ STI actually would feature a turbocharged engine and it would make in the neighborhood of 280 horsepower. Now with these spy photos, we still don't have a clear idea of what kind of powerplant the BRZ STI will be arriving with. With no hood scoop or other evidence that any forced induction is at work here, we have to assume that this prototype is a standard BRZ with a few suspension and aerodynamic upgrades. At the Los Angeles Motor Show last year, Subaru debuted a naturally aspirated concept of the BRZ STI which focused more on chassis tuning and weight saving over outright power.

Regardless of what form the production BRZ STI takes—we're hoping and praying for some proper turbocharged madness to be a part of the equation—it will almost certainly be a brilliant car to drive. Stay tuned for more details.